IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  23 July 2015

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140021068 


THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:

1.  Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).

2.  Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests correction of his record to show award of the Purple Heart.  In addition, he requests amending his National Archives and Records Administration (NA) Form 13038 (Certification of Military Service) to show his service dates as November 1952 to 18 November 1954.  

2.  The applicant states he sustained an injury while serving in the Korean War.

3.  The applicant provides:

* a letter from a Member of Congress (MOC)
* NA Form 13038
* a 1-page medical document
* a newspaper article

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice.  This provision of law also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so.  While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file.  In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing.

2.  The applicant requests correction of a National Archives and Records Administration form that is outside the jurisdiction of this Board.  Consequently, this portion of his request will not be discussed further in this Record of Proceedings.

3.  The applicant's complete military records are not available for review.  A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members' records at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  It is believed that the applicant's records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  However, there appears to be sufficient documentation remaining in a reconstructed record to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

4.  The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on                  18 November 1957.  He was awarded the military occupational specialty of 140.00 (Field Artillery Basic).  

5.  The applicant's available records contain information from the Office of the Surgeon General obtained from Hospital Admission Card data files for 1958-1963.  The form indicates the applicant was treated for an unspecified disease in July 1958 at the U.S. Army Hospital - Martin, Fort Benning, GA, that he served for less than six months, and that he was diagnosed with an inadequate personality that existed prior to his entry on active duty.

6.  His reconstructed records do not contain orders awarding him the Purple Heart.  Additionally, his medical records are not available for review with this case and his name is not shown on the Korean casualty roster.

7.  On 17 March 1958, he was discharged under honorable conditions in accordance with Army Regulation 635-209 (Personnel Separations – Discharge – Unsuitability) for inaptitude or unsuitability.  The DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) he was issued shows he completed 4 months of total active service.  There is no indication the applicant performed foreign service, received any awards or decorations, or that he was wounded as the result of action with enemy forces.

8.  The applicant provides:

   a.  A letter from an MOC who states the applicant attempted to take a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) through a Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic when bullet fragments were discovered inside his abdomen.  The applicant informed the MOC of an encounter he had during the Korean War in which he remembered being injured which would account for the bullet fragment inside his body.

   b.  A medical document, dated 20 November 2013, in which a Technologist comments the applicant has a bb pellet in his abdomen.

   c.  A newspaper clipping, dated 3 July 2014, containing the applicant's account of being drafted in 1953, fighting in Korea for 19 months, and the circumstances surrounding his wound.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of hostile action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's request for award of the Purple Heart has been carefully examined.  

2.  The applicant contends he was wounded by a bullet fragment while serving in the Korean War.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 requires substantiating evidence which confirms wounds resulted from hostile action, were treated by medical personnel, and made a matter of official record.  His reconstructed record is void of any information that would support the award of the Purple Heart.  Also, his name is not listed on the Korean casualty listing for wounds received as a result of hostile action.  In the absence of sufficient evidence of record, it would be inappropriate to grant the applicant's request.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___x____  ___x____  ____x____  DENY APPLICATION



BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned.




      ____________x____________
               CHAIRPERSON
      
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.



ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140021068





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140021068



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